CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

The PJC’s Duty

1.1 The National Crime Authority Act 1984 was amended on 1 January 2003 by the commencement of the Australian Crime Commission Establishment Act 2002 to become the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002. From 1 January 2003, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority changed its name to reflect the creation of the Australian Crime Commission.

1.2 The duties and powers of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority are transferred to the re-named Committee (the PJC). The PJC has inherited the statutory obligations to examine any annual reports from the former National Crime Authority that were outstanding at the commencement of the new legislation.

1.3 Section 55 (1) (c) of both the National Crime Authority Act 1984, and the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 detail the duties of the PJC to examine each annual report of the Authority and report to Parliament on any matter appearing in, or arising out of, any such annual report.

1.4 The National Crime Authority Annual Report 2001-2002 (the report) is prepared pursuant to section 61 of the National Crime Authority Act 1984. Under this Act, the Authority is required to furnish the report to the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC), which consists of the relevant Commonwealth Minister, and the relevant Minister of the Crown of each State, nominated by the Premier of that State. Any comments on the report by the IGC are to accompany the report when it is laid before each House of Parliament within 15 sitting days after it is received by the
Commonwealth Minister.

1.5 The Authority’s annual report has been tabled in accordance with section 61 (6) of the National Crime Authority Act 1984 as amended by the Australian Crime Commission Establishment Act 2002.

Public Hearings

1.6 The Parliamentary Joint Committee considered it desirable to hold a public hearing to examine the Authority’s annual report. A public hearing which heard evidence from representatives of the Australian Crime Commission was held on 11 August 2003. The former Chair of the National Crime Authority, Mr Gary Crooke QC, was also invited to appear before the Committee. He was unavailable at the time of the hearing. The Committee appreciates that Mr Crooke offered to make himself
available at another time, however the Committee believes that one hearing on the report is sufficient.

1.7 The Committee heard evidence from the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Crime Commission, Mr Alastair Milroy. The Committee appreciates that as Mr Milroy did not take up his appointment until March 2003 he has no direct experience of the National Crime Authority. It acknowledges the difficulties this posed for Mr Milroy in answering some of the Committee’s questions relating to the reporting period.

1.8 The following Australian Crime Commission officers appeared with Mr Milroy at the hearing:

• Mr Peter Brady, Senior Legal Adviser and Manager, Co-ordination;
• Mr Robert McDonald, Acting Director, National Operations; and
• Mr Lionel Newman, Director, Corporate Services.

Committee Report

1.9 The Parliamentary Joint Committee adopted this report at a private meeting on 16 October 2003.

Functions of the Authority

1.10 The National Crime Authority was established as a statutory authority under section 7 of the National Crime Authority Act 1984.

1.11 The general functions of the Authority are detailed in section 11 of the Act. Briefly, these are the collection, analysis and dissemination of criminal information and intelligence, investigation of relevant criminal activities referred by the Commonwealth or States or Territories, and the coordination of task forces involving Commonwealth and State Police.

Reporting Requirements

Statutory Requirements

1.12 Subsection 61 (2) requires the Authority to prepare an annual report which will include:

a) a description of the matters that were referred during that year to the Authority for investigation;
b) a description of patterns or trends, and the nature and scope of any criminal activity that have come to the attention of the Authority during that year in the course of its investigations;
c) any recommendations for changes in the laws of the Commonwealth, of a participating State or of a Territory, or for administrative action, that, as a result of the performance of its functions, the Authority considers should be made;
d) the general nature and the extent of any information furnished by the Chair of the Authority during that year to a law enforcement agency;
e) the extent to which its investigations have resulted in the prosecution in that year of persons for offences;
f) particulars of matters in respect of which the Authority has, during that year, made requests under subsection 10 (1) and, subject to subsection 61 (5), of the outcome of such requests; and
g) particulars of the numbers and results of:

ii) Applications made to the Federal Court or the Federal Magistrates Court under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 for orders of review in respect of
matters arising under the Act; and
iii) Other court proceedings involving the Authority; being applications and proceedings that were determined, or otherwise disposed of, during that year.

Other Requirements

1.13 Annual reporting requirements that are approved by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit were issued by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in June 2002. There are core requirements for all annual reports which include reporting on performance, management accountability, corporate governance and financial statements.

1.14 The annual reporting requirements issued by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet state that the content of annual reports should reflect the harmonisation, as far as practicable, of reporting regimes within government, including Portfolio Budget Statements.

1.15 The Authority provides an outcome and a set of outputs in its Portfolio Budget Statement which measure the performance of the Authority. The Portfolio Budget Statement for 2001-2002 identifies the Authority’s outcome as “An integrated and national response to organised crime”. The outputs are:

Output Group 1: Understanding the criminal environment

Output 1: Intelligence Product
Output 2: Law and administrative reform recommendations

Output Group 2: Investigating organised criminal activity

Output 1: Coordination and facilitation of integrated law enforcement
agency activity
Output 2: Impact of organised criminal environment.

1.16 Each year, the Portfolio Budget Statement prescribes indicators to gauge the effectiveness of the Authority’s performance against its outcome of an integrated and national response to organised crime. Each annual report addresses the Authority’s performance against these indicators. A description of the Authority’s performance for the reporting period can be found at 2.19.

1.17 The report indicates that it is aligned with the key performance measures developed to deliver the outcome, as set out in the Authority’s Business Plan.

1.18 The financial statements are endorsed by the former Chair of the Authority in accordance with the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.